


Patience and Comics

by SunshineAndRoseWater



Series: The Road to Recovery [2]
Category: Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-31
Updated: 2016-01-31
Packaged: 2018-05-17 10:57:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5866684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunshineAndRoseWater/pseuds/SunshineAndRoseWater
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Recovery can be frustrating for everyone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Patience and Comics

**Author's Note:**

> Another scene from the same universe as [Midnight Emergencies](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5804902) . Chronologically, this scene occurs before that one.  
> I don't know where I'm going with this, but I'm enjoying the ride. Care to join me?  
> Unbeta'd.

“I’m _trying_ ,” Patrick snaps, clearly aggravated. “You have to tell me what you want!”

Andy shuts the door behind him and braces himself for what he is about to walk in to. In the living room something makes a muffled bang.

“Patrick, come here a sec,” Andy calls, making sure to keep his voice level.

Patrick lets out a frustrated growl and stalks out of the living room to Andy.

“He’s not talking-”

“Patrick,” Andy cuts him off. “Breathe.”

Patrick takes one deliberate breath in and out. “He won’t talk to me.” Patrick emphasizes his statement by pointing towards the living room.

“He can’t.”

“Yes he can!” Patrick grabs his own hair in two tight fists. “He talks to Pete all the time.”

“Pete doesn’t yell at him.”

“I’m not yelling at him!”

Andy takes his own calming breath and resists the urge to childishly snap “yes you are.” Instead he says, “Your tone is accusatory and it’s not helping.”

“My tone is not accusatory!” Patrick unconsciously raises his shoulders in a defensive posture.

Andy feels his own shoulder tighten in response and he wills himself not to react in kind. “Go take a walk.”

The suggestion catches Patrick off-guard and his shoulders drop a little. “But I’m supposed to be watching him.”

“I’ll keep an eye on him for now. Just… go take a breather, okay?”

Patrick glances back towards the living room. “Why do I always fuck shit up?”

“You’re not fucking anything up,” Andy tells him. “Give yourself a half-hour, okay? I got this.”

Patrick grabs his jacket and heads out.

In the living room Andy finds Mikey on the couch bundled in his usual cocoon of blankets. Mikey watches him enter with the one eye that isn’t covered in bandages. Andy moves the lunch dishes out of the way and sits on the coffee table.

“He didn’t mean to yell, he’s just frustrated.”

Mikey snorts. “I- I’m frus- frust-” he groans and kicks the arm of the couch a couple of times, emphasizing each kick with the word “fuck.” Andy goes to speak, but Mikey kicks the arm one more time with a final petulant “fuck.”

Andy waits until he’s sure Mikey has finished his tantrum. “Well, that’s one word you can say without stuttering.”

His comment elicits a startled laugh from Mikey.

“Now, is there something I can get for you?” Andy asks.

Mikey looks away.

“Mikey, I’ll get you whatever you want. You just have to tell me what it is.”

“I ju- I c-can’t,” Mikey mumbles.

“Yes you can,” Andy assures him, “just take your time.”

Andy waits a few moments. When Mikey doesn’t respond right away he slowly starts collecting dishes, being careful not to let them clank together too loudly.

“I-” Mikey starts. Andy stops gathering plates and waits, not looking up in case Mikey feels like he’s being put on the spot. “B- b- bored. Ne- eed so- omething t’do.”

“Huh,” Andy muses. Finished collecting the dishes he heads to the kitchen. “Any idea what you want to do?” he calls.

Andy hopes to encourage Mikey to work on projection as well, but Mikey waits until he returns to speak again. “Co- omics?”

“I have _Watchmen_ , you can borrow it,” Andy offers.

Mikey’s eye widens and he nods.

“Okay, wait right here. I’ll get it.”

Andy heads back to his own place. He rolls his eyes at himself. _Wait right here? Where else is he going to go?_

*

Apparently, there is one place he can go. When Andy gets back Mikey is on his feet, lurching haphazardly away from the couch.

“Whoa, hey,” Andy tosses the comic onto the coffee table and chases after him. “I told you to wait. What’s up?”

“Ba- athroom.”

“Let me help you.” Andy grabs Mikey’s elbow. Mikey pulls away, but he unbalances himself and Andy has to catch him to keep him from falling over. As soon as Mikey’s balanced again Andy lets go. If he wants to try this himself, then Andy is going to let him. Mikey waits a moment, but when he realizes Andy isn’t going to grab him again he starts walking. Andy follows him.

At the edge of the living room there’s a small step up. The step is minuscule, three inches at most, but it is the most ridiculous design in the history of interior design. Already Bronx, Saint, and Mikey have all tripped on that step at least half a dozen times each. In Andy’s opinion, whoever designed it should be shot.

Andy hops up the step and offers a hand. “Let me give you a hand.”

“C- can ma- manage.”

Though he disagrees Andy doesn’t refute the statement. Instead he remains in place, leaving his hand out should Mikey need it.

Mikey lifts his foot to step up and misses. He pauses staring at his foot which is an inch shy of its intended goal.

“You need two eyes for depth perception,” Andy observes mildly.

Mikey glares at the step, then at Andy, then back at the step.

Andy nods sagely. “I hate that fucking step, too.”

Mikey takes Andy’s offered hand and tries again.

“A little further,” Andy says. Mikey follows his advice and finally gets up the step. He finishes the rest of the walk to the bathroom unaided.

Mikey doesn’t even try the return trip unaided. He throws an arm over Andy’s shoulder and lets Andy lead him.

“Let me know if you want me to carry you,” Andy offers, wrapping a firm arm around Mikey’s thin waist.

Three steps later Mikey stops.

“C- can yo-”

“Sure.” Andy doesn’t make him finish his sentence. He hooks his arm under Mikey’s legs and scoops him up. It’s a little awkward given their height differences, but Andy has gotten used to it. They have all carried Mikey at one point or another. Even Patrick picked Mikey up once when they first found him. Then again, he probably weighed less than Patrick at the time.

Andy places Mikey on the couch and begins bundling him up with blankets.

“You look exhausted,” Andy observes. Mikey nods, letting himself be tucked in. “Well, get some rest. I’ll leave _Watchmen_ on the table here. You can read it when you wake up.”

Andy leaves him to rest.

“Andy?” Mikey calls. “Thanks.”

Andy smiles. “You’re up to three words now.”

Mikey lifts a fist in silent victory. Then goes back to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Did my work make you feel emotions? Come talk to me about it on my tumblr: [sunshinedontcare](http://sunshinedontcare.tumblr.com/)


End file.
